World War II Odyssey
The Newman Crew
By Bill Frankhouser, Navigator, 603rd Squadron
When our crew left Rapid City the ten crew members were:
| Pilot | Herb Newman | 27 years | Little Rock, Arkansas |
| Co-Pilot | Paul Deininger | 26 years | Scranton, Pennsylvania |
| Bombardier | W. Dean Whitaker | 19 years | Maywood, California |
| Navigator | Bill Frankhouser | 20 years | Honey Brook, Pennsylvania |
| Engineer | Cornelius Harrington | 22 years | New York City, New York |
| Radio Operator | Norman Bergsma | 20 years | Lafayette, Indiana |
| Ball Turret | Arnold Money | 23 years | Tacoma, Washington |
| Waist Gunner | Bernie MacKenzie | 18 years | Framingham, Massachusetts |
| Waist Gunner | LeRoy Kucharski | 18 years | Milwaukee, Wisconsin |
| Tail Gunner | Steve Kernitz | 27 years | Buffalo, New York |
Collectively we ranged in age from eighteen to twenty-seven years, and we came from both large and small communities scattered across the entire country. We came from a variety of ethnic backgrounds and religious affiliations or beliefs. Surprisingly, however, I never learned what the older crew members had done to earn a living prior to joining the Army Air Corps. Obviously, the eighteen- and nineteen-year-olds were just out of high school. None had been to college except for me. Despite this prior diversity, we knew now that we had to become a close-knit working crew.
From World War II Odyssey by Bill Frankhouser, pages 59-60. Published by Hamilton's, Bedford, VA, 1997, ISBN 1-883912-03-2. WWII Odyssey is available in the 398th PX.
Personal History Information
- Veteran: Bill Frankhouser
- Navigator, 603rd Squadron
- Date of Personal History: August 2003 Web Page submission. Excerpted from World War II Odyssey by Bill Frankhouser.
- Author: Bill Frankhouser
- Submitted to 398th Web Pages by: Bill Frankhouser